Franchising, retail, business
21/08/2014
Crowdcube, the equity-based crowdfunding platform, has broken the world record for the fastest fundraising after taking just 16 minutes to hit its target.
In a world first, Crowdcube, which raises funds from armchair investors in exchange for equity, today closed a £1.2m round within just 16 minutes.
This was 12 times faster than the previous record for the fastest crowdfunded pitch and set a world record for the fastest equity crowdfunding raise of all time.
The previous record for the fastest equity crowdfund was Crowdfunder, a Cornwall-based crowdfunding platform focusing on rewards, which raised £500,000 in three hours.
141 investors backed Crowdcube’s latest round of crowdfunding, which will be used to expand the company's operations both in the UK and internationally.
The average amount invested topped £8,500.
This latest round follows a £3.8m cash injection from venture capital firm Balderton Capital last week.
The company, which now has a presence in seven countries, including Brazil, Sweden, Dubai, Poland, Italy, Spain and New Zealand, is hoping to build a truly global crowdfunding platform.
The total investment pot, which now totals £5m, will also be used to double the size of Crowdcube's team to 50 staff, opening new offices in London and Scotland while expanding its Exeter base.
Darren Westlake, Crowdcube CEO and co-founder said: “This is the first time that any sizeable fundraise has meshed traditional and alternative finance methods and we expect to see more of this in the future.
"Crowdcube is in a fantastic position to pursue our growth plans and continue to support both investors and small and growing businesses in their investment and finance requirements.”
Mr Westlake and co-founder Luke Lang launched Crowdcube in February 2011 to "democratise investment". According to Mr Westlake, "Banks adopt a no-risk approach to lending, while business angels and venture capital funding are difficult to access. We are leveraging the potential of the crowd to pool small amounts of investment."
Crowdcube takes a 5pc cut of each successful fund-raising. If a project fails to reach a predetermined target, money is returned to investors.
Crowdcube has successfully crowdfunded through its own platform two times previously, raising £320,000 in 2011 and £1.5m in 2013.
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